Grant the Ten Demands of the Hunger Strikers at Red Onion State Prison

After attempts to air their grievances through the Red Onion State Prison's internal processes were ignored, prisoners have begun a hunger strike to protest the deplorable conditions in the prison and ongoing abuses by prison staff.

The prisoners have laid out a set of demands which call for an end to indefinite segregation, clean living conditions, healthy, cooked meals, access to medical care, cleaning materials and personal hygiene products, and a clear and transparent process for complaints. They also demand that third-party observers be given access to document prison conditions and that prisoners be informed of the duration and reason for solitary detention.

In the striker's own words: "Regardless of sexual preference, gang affiliation, race and religion, there are only two classes at this prison: the oppressor and the oppressed. We the oppressed are coming together. We’re considered rival gang members, but now we’re coming together as revolutionaries. We’re tired of being treated like animals.”

Please sign this petition as an act of solidarity with the hunger strikers. Tell Randall Mathena, Harold Clarke and Governor McDonnell to meet the strikers' demands for dignity and human rights.

We (Prisoners at Red Onion State Prison) demand the right to an adequate standard of living while in the custody of the state!

1. We demand fully cooked food, and access to a better quality of fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition, we demand increased portions on our trays, which allows us to meet our basic nutritional needs as defined by VDOC regulations.

2. We demand that every prisoner at ROSP have unrestricted access to complaint and grievance forms and other paperwork we may request.

3.We demand better communication between prisoners and higher- ranking guards. Presently higher-ranking guards invariably take the lower-ranking guards’ side in disputes between guards and prisoners, forcing the prisoner to act out in order to be heard. We demand that higher- ranking guards take prisoner complaints and grievances into consideration without prejudice.

4. We demand an end to torture in the form of indefinite segregation through the implementation of a fair and transparent process whereby prisoners can earn the right to be released from segregation.We demand that prison officials completely adhere to the security point system, insuring that prisoners are transferred to institutions that correspond with their particular security level.

5. We demand the right to an adequate standard of living, including access to quality materials that we may use to clean our own cells. Presently, we are forced to clean our entire cell, including the inside of our toilets, with a single sponge and our bare hands. This is unsanitary and promotes the spread of disease-carrying bacteria.

6. We demand the right to have 3rd party neutral observers visit and document the condition of the prisons to ensure an end to the corruption amongst prison officials and widespread human rights abuses of prisoners. Internal Affairs and Prison Administrator's monitoring of prison conditions have not alleviated the dangerous circumstances we are living under while in custody of the state which include, but are not limited to: the threat of undue physical aggression by guards, sexual abuse and retaliatory measures, which violate prison policies and our human rights.

7.We demand to be informed of any and all changes to VDOC/IOP policies as soon as these changes are made.

8.We demand the right to adequate medical care. Our right to medical care is guaranteed under the eight amendment of the constitution, and thus the deliberate indifference of prison officials to our medical needs constitutes a violation of our constitutional rights. In particular, the toothpaste we are forced to purchase in the prison is a danger to our dental health and causes widespread gum disease and associated illnesses.

9. We demand our right as enumerated through VDOC policy, to a monthly haircut. Presently, we have been denied haircuts for nearly three months. We also demand to have our razors changed out on a weekly basis. The current practice of changing out the razors every three weeks leaves prisoners exposed to the risk of dangerous infections and injury.

10. We demand that there be no reprisals for any of the participants in the Hunger Strike. We are simply organizing in the interest of more humane living conditions.

Letter to

Chief Warden, Red Onion State PrisonRandall Mathena

Director of the Virginia Department of CorrectionsHarold Clarke

Virginia Governor

I am writing to support the hunger strikers at Red Onion State Prison as they demand an end to indefinite detention, clean, humane living conditions, access to medical care, healthy, cooked meals and a fair and transparent process to air their grievances. They also demand that third-party observers be given access to document prison conditions and that prisoners be informed of the duration and reason for solitary detention.

The prisoners have attempted to complain about the issues they face in the prison through administrative channels, but their voices were not heard. They were left no choice but to refuse their meals in order to draw attention to the pressing living conditions.

I am writing to you today to ask you to grant the ten demands laid out by the hunger strikers. All people deserve basic human rights and dignity.